Wednesday, October 12, 2011

You Can't Keep A Crazy Mo-Fo Down

One thing I do pretty well, surly and happy mice, is bounce back. I'm already working a new angle on the new non-fiction book proposal and making traction with a new agent. Your loss, Agent 99, and the 98 who came before! (Actually, when I put it that way, I see something effed-up about my formula.) It's just not that personal. I once had lunch with this editor who'd passed up an insanely successful, pulitzer-prize-winning literary book. I asked her if she regretted letting the opportunity pass, and she said. "Naw, I just didn't like it that much!" I did hear the faint sound of "ka-ching, ka-ching" ringing somewhere behind her dead eyes, but she did seem to believe her own b.s. Whatever. They have their own formulas for success and they are working in a dying business, or so everyone says. It does occur to me that maybe after a while you stop feeling the blows so acutely when you are being pummeled. Not sure. But, anyway, onward! as Howard Junker would say. Let's not let anything hold us back now.

Why do people write pablum-type remarks? If you don't have something of substance to say, don't type."branse" had a point to make. Nobody else did.And what's with the glamour shots? This site has lost it's vitality (which was often of a raw, combative nature, and I suppose you don't have the stomach anymore for that type of thing).Anyway, I just want to say you're wonderful, and to go forth! (Actually, I think you're an interesting person, and I wish you the best; I don't know if you're "wonderful," and I'm cynical enough about the state of publishing that I wouldn't advise anybody to "go forth.")

Speaking of Howard Junker, does ZYZZYVA still only read submissions from people on the west coast? I looked at their guidelines recently (the redesign looks great) but could no longer find the rule that submitters must live in a state on the west coast. Seems odd that they would open up the slush pile to everyone, they must get swamped with enough submissions as it is.

Sometimes you have to be a little crazy to keep escaping the suffocating fear of failure. Last night I was at the grocery store listening to hard rock - metal when suddenly (while staring at the chocolate offerings) into my head burst 'My Favorite Things' from The Sound of Music and I had to restrain myself from dancing down the aisle and breaking into song. I probably looked really shifty, but for a few minutes anything seemed possible. One of my favorite things is writing stories. The fear of failure will be crushed under my dancing feet...at least for today.

It's the anti-pablum guy again. The guy who doesn't like comments that are tweets.Yes, I was mean-spirited to use direct quotes from the comments others made, and I should keep my annoyance regarding photos to myself."Me again" says that glamour shots are done as a move to get published. (Or I guess that's what he's trying to say.)I wouldn't be surprised. If you're a pretty girl why not use it on randy old editors/agents/authors/professors.But what if you're ugly, like me? Anyway, w/r, nobody pointed out that you made a Freudian slip when you reprimanded me. You wrote, "if hope" when you meant "of hope."But, actually, the question is if hope exists.

i and o are adjacent on the keyboard, let's not look for freudian slips in typos, dude.

as for branse's comment, i had the same question before but then i remembered that it was junot diaz whom the agent passed on, and w.r. is die-hard diaz fan girl. naturally, anyone who isn't impressed with diaz is a dead-eyed spouter of b.s.

excuse me while i apply some animating eye drops and pick cow excrement from my teeth.

Rules of the Game

4) Be nice to one another. The world is already overpopulated with asses.

Guess What?

After 15 years of rejections (most of them posted here along with all the rejections you've sent me over the years), my novel is getting published by a literary press. Little third-gendered me will soon have a book you can read for yourself and see if the hundreds of rejections were misguided or not. For more on the matter, read this post and this one too.

People Magazine Picks Miracle Girls

What the What? (This is actually for real.)

ew.com blog review

"Failure is the New Funny. Whether you're a writer ... or a bookworm ... Literary Rejections on Display is worth checking out."

Huff Po Compliment

"A highly entertaining blog."

The Millions Assesses

"An answer to what to do with your rejections: throw them away, but first, complain about them on the internet!"

Gawker Gawks LROD

"A reminder of the competitive pressures that help drive some authors to start plagiarizing and making things up."

GALLEYCAT Chimes In

"Excellent blog."

The Boston Phoenix Rises

"Might we suggest whiling away the hours with Literary Rejections On Display? We've been hooked for the last couple of weeks..."

Psych Today Puts LROD On The Couch

"An author who, like the rest of us, experiences many more rejections than acceptances."

Blogher Offers a Female Nod

"And since something isn't really something until there's a blog about it, I give you Literary Rejections on Display."

Poets & Writers Questions LROD

"Isn't it part of the writer's job to learn from--rather than reject--rejection?"

HTML GIANT Confesses

"I am sort of addicted to this site. I go through phases: I check it regularly, then I stop myself and ignore it for several months. Then I remember it again and sift through its wreckage."

The Village Voice Bitches About LROD

"Deliberately composed of unpublished individuals who wear their rejection slips as badges of integrity."

Cape Cod Times Gets the Joke

"Caschetta’s wit sparkles in “Literary Rejections on Display,” a humorous and intelligent look at the literary world"